Cleveland Force
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The Cleveland Force is a name that has been used by two different indoor soccer teams.
Contents |
[edit] The Original Team
The original Cleveland Force was one of the six charter franchises in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The team played from 1978 to 1988 at the Richfield Coliseum, the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and occasionally drew crowds in the 20,000's in the mid-80's. The team's nickname was inspired by the The Force, a mystical power used by the Jedi Knights in the then recently released Star Wars movie. The team theatrics originally included Darth Vader and Star Wars Music until the team faced litigation and had to change the "mascot". Despite its popularity and success, the team folded in July of 1988 when the team's owner could not get concessions from the MISL Players Association (MISLPA).
[edit] Growing Pains
The Force started off the '78-'79 season by splitting their first two games which turned out to be the high point of the season, record-wise. The team would end the season losing 13 of their last 14 games to finish in 6th place in the league, one game behind the Pittsburgh Spirit. Only Brian Budd and Roy Sinclair managed to break double digits in goals, netting 24 and 10 respectively.
The MISL expanded to 10 teams and a 32 game schedule in '79-'80 which resulted in the Force being placed in the Central Division along with Houston, who finished the previous year with the best record, and expansion teams in Detroit, Wichita, and St. Louis. The roster was almost entirely new with only four players from the previous season returning. The result was pretty much the same as the previous year with the Force finishing tied for last place in the division with St. Louis.
[edit] Year-by-year
| Year | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Attendance Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978/79 | MISL | 6th, 5-19 | Did not qualify | 3,116 |
| 1979/80 | MISL | 5th, Central, 12-20 | Did not qualify | 3,080 |
| 1980/81 | MISL | 2nd, Central, 21-19 | 1st Round | 4,884 |
| 1981/82 | MISL | 6th, Eastern, 15-29 | Did not qualify | 5,001 |
| 1982/83 | MISL | 2nd, Eastern, 29-19 | Semifinals | 6,609 |
| 1983/84 | MISL | 3rd, Eastern, 31-17 | Semifinals | 13,692 |
| 1984/85 | MISL | 3rd, Eastern, 27-21 | Semifinals | 12,929 |
| 1985/86 | MISL | 1st, Eastern, 27-21 | Semifinals | 12,793 |
| 1986/87 | MISL | 1st, Eastern, 34-18 | Semifinals | 14,111 |
| 1987/88 | MISL | 2nd, Eastern, 30-26 | Final | 11,279 |
[edit] Honors
Coach of the Year
- 1978-1979 Timo Liekoski
Pass Master
- 1986-1987 Kai Haaskivi
Defender of the Year
- 1982-1983: Bernie James
Rookie of the Year
- 1984-1985 Ali Kazemaini
- 1986-1987 John Stollmeyer
First Team All-MISL
- 1981 Ian Anderson
- 1984 Kai Haaskivi
- 1987 Kai Haaskivi
Former Players
Zoran Karic
Mike Barry- David Hoggan
Ian Anderson (1980-81)
Hector Marinaro
Kai Haaskivi
George Nanchoff- Louie Nanchoff
Goran Vasic- Jim Larkin
John Ball
Adauto Neto- Guiliano Oliviero
- Michael King
- Andy Schmetzer
- Otto Orf
- Adam Guren
[edit] The Second Team
The second team to be called the Cleveland Force was founded in 1989 as the Cleveland Crunch, a replacement for the original Cleveland Force which had folded in the summer of 1988. When the original MISL ceased operation in 1992, the Crunch joined the NPSL. This league would eventually reorganize itself as the new Major Indoor Soccer League in 2001. The Crunch would take on the old Force name in 2002. After several years of losing money, the team was placed on inactive status in September 2005 when new owners could not be found.
[edit] Honors
Championships
- 1993-94 NPSL Champions
- 1995-96 NPSL Champions
- 1998-99 NPSL Champions
Division Titles
- 1990-91 Eastern Division
- 1994-95 American Division
- 1995-96 American Division
- 1996-97 Central Division
- 1998-99 Central Division
- 1999-00 Central Division
[edit] Year-by-Year
[edit] Head Coaches
- Kai Haaskivi 1989-1990
- Trevor Dawkins 1990-1992
- Gary Hindley 1992-1995
- Bruce Miller 1995-2001
- George Fernandez 2001
- Mike Pilger 2001-2002
- Andy Schmetzer 2002-2004
- Omid Namazi 2004-2005
- Otto Orf 2004 (served as head coach during a Namazi suspension)
[edit] Arenas
- Richfield Coliseum 1989-1992
- CSU Convocation Center 1992-2005
| Year | League | Logo | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Avg. Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-90 | MISL |  |
4th East, 20-32 | Failed to qualify | 5,543 |
| 1990-91 | MSL | |
1st East, 29-23 | Lost Championship | 4,640 |
| 1991-92 | MSL | |
3rd MISL, 20-20 | Lost Semifinal | 7,056 |
| 1992-93 | NPSL | |
2nd American, 25-15 | Lost Championship | 6,483 |
| 1993-94 | NPSL | |
2nd American, 23-17 | Won Championship | 6,677 |
| 1994-95 | NPSL |  |
1st American, 30-10 | Lost Semifinal | 7,579 |
| 1995-96 | NPSL | |
1st American, 31-9 | Won Championship | 7,647 |
| 1996-97 | NPSL | |
1st Central, 29-11 | Lost Championship | 8,044 |
| 1997-98 | NPSL |  |
2nd Central, 21-19 | Lost Conference Semifinal | 8,265 |
| 1998-99 | NPSL | |
1st Central, 26-14 | Won Championship | 8,034 |
| 1999-00 | NPSL | |
1st Central, 27-17 | Lost Championship | 6,290 |
| 2000-01 | NPSL | |
5th American, 18-22 | Failed to qualify | 6,317 |
| 2001-02 | MISL II | |
5th MISL, 16-28 | Failed to qualify | 4,688 |
| 2002-03 | MISL II |  |
2nd East, 19-17 | Lost Conference Semifinal | 5,381 |
| 2003-04 | MISL II | |
3rd East, 15-21 | Lost Quarterfinal | 4,955 |
| 2004-05 | MISL II | |
2nd MISL, 23-16 | Lost Championship | 3,639 |
